Nothings ever easy
by AudreyEve
Summary: Inuyasha can't seem to catch a break. Kagome is such a tease.
1. SIT!

The orbs of lights flew past us at dizzying speeds, fast enough to lift long tendrils of gleaming black hair away from her face to vanish against the night sky. Automobiles are easier to understand if you pretend they aren't real, but after the 3rd time I was hit by a car and ended up braining the humans responsible, Kagome threw a fit.

The lights were pretty magical, once you got past the fact that the only thing they reminded you of was freaky demons racing straight at you. Okay, so maybe I didn't get "accidentally" hit by the cars, but something that puts up that much of a fight is just too much to resist. Just don't tell Kagome… She'll bite my freaking head off.

Speaking of that insufferable, annoying little human, at this very moment she's tugging me all around town like her own personal pack mule! I swear to god, if she stops at one more store and makes me lug around one more freaking bag-

"Inuyasha, are you even listening to me? You need to pay more attention!" A whiny voice chastised me like an owner scolding a puppy. That's gonna get on my last nerve very soon.

"No, I wasn't. Why do you talk so much?" I asked honestly, the angry undertone an automatic response.

She flushed a bright red and I inspected her closer, ears twitching in agitation. It's so easy to confuse anger for passion.

"SIT!" She shrieked right before I was faced with a mouth full of pavement.

A man can never win, can he?

---

"Carry those crates to the shed, would you?" A weak, high voice warbled. Kagome's grandfather was accommodating as long as I helped him with the heavy lifting he could no longer do. Hell, I enjoy it. I get to hang around and help people who aren't afraid of me. Kagome's little brother Sota even thinks I'm some kind of superhero. Kagome, on the other hand, won't stop bitching at me. Damn, I have no clue what I should do to shut her up. Time to observe, I think.

Carrying two heavy crates, I took the longer way about, stealthily poking my head through

"Thanks, boy, ye helped me greatly." Grandpa smiled up at me, all crinkled eyes. I gave him a half smile and took a flying leap onto the roof. I got to see Grandpa look around himself in disorientation before I flew through Kagome's window with no warning.

"Ayeeeeee! Inuyasha! Get. OUT." Kagome through a pillow and it hit my face, lingering a second before falling to the floor.

I stared, shocked, then flushed. "Kagome! Why the hell you gotta be throwing stuff at me all the time? It's not like your- oh." I flushed even deeper, almost matching Kagome as she clutched a towel to her chin.

"SIT!" She shrieked right before I got a microscopes view of the carpets fibers.

Damn, I hope the floorboards hold.

---

"Have you calmed down yet?" I sat slumped against her door, sword awkwardly stabbing my side as I tried to hear what was going on inside. When she opened the door, yes, I'll admit it, I fell flat on my face.

"Are you done barging in like you own the place?" She scowled down at me while I got a very good look upwards.

I quickly sat up, blush stinging my cheeks as I hoped she didn't see. "You're the one that's avoiding me." I growled, looking away.

She sighed and tugged on my ear. "Let's go back now. I bet the gang must be missing us."

I scowled. "No, let's go for a walk."

She blinked in surprise. "Um, sure. Where to?"

"I'll lead the way." I stood, brushing myself off in a dignified way as I scrambled for any clue as to why I said that or where I would take her. When I looked back to see if she would follow, her eyes were unfocused, cheeks pink.

I took her hand and we walked out into the starlit night.

---

Her footsteps were soft on the dewy leaves carpeting the stones and I had to glance back often to be sure she was still there. Sometimes I would grab her hand, but the walk was all in all silent except for the breeze softly stirring the leaves and the music of a nearby stream.

I stopped near a very familiar tree, an odd sensation blocking my throat. I turned to Kagome and gripped her arms violently.

"God, you can piss me off so much, I just get so mad, but there's something, there's more to it... Kagome..." I broke off with a startled sound as Kagome kissed my cheek, a smirk on her lips.

"Oh, Inuyasha… You think telling me how much I "piss you off" is gonna win me over? Sit, boy."

A guy never learns, huh.


	2. Ehh

"Come on! We gotta go NOW!" Her shriek broke apart my dream. I rubbed my face, images still flashing behind my eyelids.

"What?" I grumbled looking down at her from my usual perch in the tree.

"We. Gotta. GO. Will you hurry up already?" The Breeze ruffled her hair, carrying her scent in the wind, familiar.

I hopped down. It was just dawn, the grass still dewy under my bare feet. For some reason, maybe because of last night, I wasn't up to my usual retorts. I just waited until she stopped staring and started walking.

She opened the old doors to the sacred well, the smell of dust and dirt heavy and stale. "Inuyasha?" She asked, almost timidly.

I looked at her blankly.

"You okay?" She actually looked concerned. That's a first.

"Just tired. Go ahead." I gestured to the well, hoping she'd take the hint.

She looked at me for a long time, her eyes probing. After a minute she gave up and let herself down.

I sat on the edge of the well for a second after, something blocking my throat. Sighing, I long look around myself and dropped down into the portal, not ready at all for whatever waited next.

---

When I landed at the bottom, I looked up to see Kagome wriggling to get up to the top, her schoolgirl skirt failing miserably at giving her any coverage. The usual blush that attacked me at times like this was curiously sluggish. I counted it toward rejection.

After she was over, she popped her head over the edge. "What, you broke a leg or something?"

I smirked and jumped out. "Come on." She started walking towards the village, but I grabbed her hand and hauled her onto my back. The sooner we got there, the better.

I started to run, my hands gripping her legs a little firmer than necessary. I could feel her warmth through my tamaka, her cheek pressed to my hair. I ran too close to a tree and she flinched a little, letting out a shaky laugh. A grin cracked my face. Time for some revenge.

I swooped under low branches and jumped to the tops of the trees, gaining speed as I went. She screamed when I wanted her to and laughed likewise. I really couldn't help grinning like an idiot as we neared a valley. I leaped and soared over it, miles below my feet the strip of river and sharp rocks gleamed. She screamed loud enough for me to worry about my hearing, but then we were on the other side and I was back on my reckless zigzag course, grin happily in place.

---

When we got to the village, I stood still a moment, her heartbeat quick against my back. I remembered why I was supposed to be detached. "Can you walk?" I asked a bit snippier than necessary.

"Um, yes."

I set her down abruptly, turning around in time to see her lurch drunkenly towards the bushes and become violently sick. I sat down behind her, a million questions racing through my head that I would never ask.

When she was finished, she sat with her head between her knees. I placed a hand between her shoulder blades. "Sorry." I mumbled.

"No-" she paused to take a deep breath, "I'm okay." I helped her stand and we made it a few steps before she wobbled.

I picked her up, cradling her against my chest.

"Let's never do that again sometime." Her voice cracked.

My booming laugh echoed all the way to the village.

---


	3. Help?

I sat there for a minute, thinking things through. Obviously Kagome didn't hate me, or I would be a few feet underground by now. The problem was finding a way to tell her how I felt without pissing her off. Wait, wait, hold up! Who's the one always going on and on about women? He has to know what he's doing.

I stood up from under the tree and sprinted back to the village. "Mirokuuuuuu!~" I shouted, hunting down his scent. I found him with a flock of the working village women, reading their palms and copping a feel before they went back to the fields. "Miroku, come with me." I grabbed his hand and dragged him into the forest despite his struggles. When we were far enough away, I let him go, waiting till he stopped grumbling.

"What is it? I really liked that girl." He groaned.

"Which girl?" I asked, certain he was grabbing about 3 asses at a time back there.

"Well… that's not the point." He looked sideways, scheming.

"Wow, you really are a lecher." I said. He flushed, but I cut him off before he could retaliate. "I need your help."

He looked at me, a glimmer in his eye. "With Kagome, right?" He grinned "I think I can help you after all."

---

I found her collecting herbs by the spring. I could hear Miroku shuffling around in the bushes some ways away.

"Kagome," I sighed in relief, and she looked up.

"Hey, Inuyasha! I was just collecting some herbs for Kaede." She smiled up at me, the sun lighting up her brown eyes.

I knelt next to her, feeling the blush rising at what I was about to say. I picked a few herbs, still looking down.

"What is it you want, Inuyasha?" She asked politely, but with a hint of petulance.

I took her hand and looked deep into her eyes, like I was told.

"Kagome, the thought of you with any other man keeps me up at night. I won't allow that to happen." I said earnestly and she stared back in shock, her mouth slightly open.

"Bear my children?" I asked, moving my hand down her hip and copping a feel.

Her face turned bright red, then purple. "You're just like Miroku! You pervert!"

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! I braced myself.

"SIT!" She ran back towards Kaede's hut.

I crashed into the spring, a torrent of water following in my wake. Miroku burst out laughing and I saw red.

"DAMN YOU MIROKUUUU!"

---

"Sango, I need to talk to you." I said. She was practicing with Kirara, who came to sit on her shoulder as we made our way into the woods.

"What is it?" She was bewildered. I did talk to her, didn't I?

"I really need your help. How do I get Kagome to love me?" I asked with desperation in my voice, then I growled and looked away. "I wouldn't normally ask questions like these, but I'm at my wits end. She's impossible!"

"Uhm, let me think." She paused, "I think I can help you after all." She smiled cunningly. I just hope her advice was better than Miroku's.

---

An hour later, I was scrubbed clean, my hair combed and untangled. I walked towards the faint lights, as was the plan, and stopped when I reached the hut. The roof was draped with small ornamental lamps, but they were everywhere, and wildflowers were scattered over the floor in tiny bowls, the scent faint but sweet. I stepped inside the hut to find Sango just finishing the dinner preparations. More flowers and small lanterns were arranged in the corners of the room and the rest was bare besides the table and two mats for sitting. I was still impressed, but I didn't know how this was supposed to work.

"Oh-kay! I think its perfect. Now. You remember the plan?" She asked, proud of herself.

"Uhm, yeah, I think." I mumbled, embarrassed.

That was all she needed. "I'll get Kagome!" And before I could blink she had raced out the door.

I hid myself in the dark corner like I was told and waited, fidgety and completely scared to death. In a few days, we would have to go back out and hunt for the shikon shards, so this was the only chance I was gonna get. That fact made me want to run, now.

I was very close to doing just that when I picked up the sound of Sango and Kagome's steps. I listened very closely. "Well, you like him, right?" Sango asked.

"Well, yeah, but he's such an idiot! I don't want to be together with him if he's just gonna keep drooling over Kikiyo. I'm not some kind of fool." She ranted bitterly.

"Well, that may be true, but I think he really means-," She stopped when Kagome gasped, probably at the decorations. I could hear Sango stepping towards the door. Kagome's steps followed. "He must mean it." Sango finished, opening the door for Kagome.

I stayed hidden and watched her step through the door, Sango walked back towards the forest, but I could hear her loop around the hut to peek through a small hole in the wall. I scowled at her, then rearranged my features, stepping from the shadows.

"Would you like to eat with me tonight?" I asked, watching the blush reach her cheeks with satisfaction.

She just stood there, looking at me. "You did all this?" she asked with disbelief.

"I wanted to apologize to you for being such a jerk to you lately." I took her hand and made sure she was seated before I sat, just as Sango had instructed me. Kagome was really pretty in the candlelight, her cheeks pink and lips shining. Her lashes were darker than usual, the shadow obscuring her unique double-lid.

She just kept staring while we ate, then some sort of resolve shown in her eyes. "This isn't right. You love Kikiyo."

"Not as much as I love you." I said with emotion.

She got very, very mad very quickly. Crap. "So you do love her!"

I stammered, "No, no! I swear! I love you!"

She picked up her sake cup, drained it, and turned towards the door. I sighed in relief. "By the way," she paused by the door, "You are the dumbest man I've ever met. I can't believe I love you. SIT!"

The nice dishes that had been arranged artfully were now shattered and trying their damnedest to embed themselves in my flesh. I could hear Sango fall over laughing behind the hut, the rocks clattering around her. She must have been rolling around. Very un-Sango-like. "God damnit." I moaned, unable to blame her for this one.

---

I walked towards the huts door, pausing to take a deep breath before I entered. "Kaede?" I asked, unable to believe I was asking an old crone like her for love advice.

She seemed to sense the turn my thoughts had taken. "What is it, idiot?" She sighed.

"I really need help with Kagome, I don't know who else to ask." I stared at the floorboards, humiliated.

"Why are you asking me?" She asked, genuinely surprised. "Not that I'd be unhappy to help, frankly it's about time, but I really think you should be asking her instead."

"Uhm, can we make a plan first? I might screw up again." I flushed.

"Good point." She grinned, "Okay, first things first…"

---


End file.
